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Civics-Testing Movement Spreads to Missouri

Missouri high school students will need to pass a civics exam and public schools must set time aside daily for the Pledge of Allegiance, under a package of education measures Gov. Jay Nixon signed into law Wednesday.

Missouri high school students will need to pass a civics exam and public schools must set time aside daily for the Pledge of Allegiance, under a package of education measures Gov. Jay Nixon signed into law Wednesday.

 

The new law requires most students who start ninth grade after July 2017 to pass a 100-question civics exam similar to the U.S. citizenship test in order to graduate. It's part of a national push by Arizona-based Joe Foss Institute to see similar laws in all 50 states.

 

The legislation also calls for public high school students starting in fall 2017 to receive 30 minutes training on CPR and first aid for choking, such as the Heimlich maneuver. Nixon signed a bill with the same provision earlier this month.

 

Other provisions in the Missouri legislation, which was loaded down with changes in the final days of session, expand a community college scholarship program to private schools.

 

Nixon during a visit to Springfield touted a policy change to create a pilot program to rate preschools based on quality. Nixon's office said Missouri was the only state that banned a quality rating system for preschools.

 

Participation by early childhood centers in the three-year pilot program will be voluntary.

 

"This legislation is long overdue, and I'm pleased we're taking action to provide the tools parents need to find the right preschool for them and their children," Nixon said in a statement.

Caroline Cournoyer is GOVERNING's senior web editor.
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